Oakland Raiders May Have NFL's Worst Offensive Line

Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

Aside from the New York Giants, the Oakland Raiders may have the worst offensive line in the NFL.

Going into Sunday’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs the Raiders knew they were going to have a big workload handling the ferocious pass rush of the Chiefs’ front seven. What they didn’t know is that they’d give up ten sacks and have young quarterback Terrelle Pryor running for his life all game.

The Raiders were forced to play with career right guard Mike Brisiel at center because two other starters were out with injuries.

Lamar Mady and Matt McCants, a pair of rookies, were forced to come on the field midway through the game to replace the gaps left by right tackle Tony Pashos and second-string center Andre Gurode after both went down with injuries. The only reason Pashos and Gurode were playing was because of injuries to mammoth left tackle Jared Veldheer and center Stefen Wisniewski.

Opposing defenses are well aware that Pryor is a tremendous threat running the ball so they’re going to do everything they can to get to him. And without an offensive line to give him some protection he will be less effective than he potentially could be.

Much to the dismay of coaching staff, the Raiders may not have any of their projected starters on their offensive line for some time, even with the team on a bye week.

With almost $70 million in cap space the Raiders need to invest in a pair of solid veteran offensive linemen who can provide some protection for Pryor, assist in the running game, and just to fill voids when there are injuries. Oakland’s reserves are terrible.

The Raiders could make some noise if they had an offensive line.